


Adopted Daughters

by Lenny9987



Series: Lenny's Imagine Claire and Jamie Prompts [39]
Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:26:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12704970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenny9987/pseuds/Lenny9987
Summary: Prompt: Imagine if Joan tagged along with Marsali when she left with Fergus.





	1. Chapter 1

“Christ,” Jamie muttered next to Claire at the ship’s railing, his hands tightening sharply on the wood and his knuckles going white.

“What?” Claire peered at the small skiff with its passengers approaching their ship, the wind already filling its sails and pulling them out to sea and away from the coast. She recognized Fergus and there seemed to be someone else next to him—perhaps two bodies—but his position blocked her sight of them.

Jamie smacked his hand on the rail and stormed to where the rope and slat ladder was being lowered for the last few passengers to climb aboard. Claire followed and heard Jamie’s voice take on a surprisingly gentle tone considering his anger and frustration a moment before.

“Hold tight now,” he called and reached down. “Keep yer mind on what ye’re about—one foot, then the other. There ye are, I’ve got ye now.”

The small and wary body of Joanie MacKimmie was hauled aboard and she wound up securely in Jamie’s arms, though whether he had pulled her to him or she had thrown herself at him for comfort was unclear.

Marsali MacKimmie was close behind her younger sister, a sackcloth bag secured to her back and Fergus ascended last, similarly laden with hastily packed belongings. Jamie settled Joanie back on the deck letting her continue to cling to his side as he leveled his gaze at Fergus and Marsali.

“What do ye think ye’re doing here?” He fought to keep his voice level as the ladder was raised and the ship pulled further to open water. “Dragging the wee lass with ye too? No,” he shook his head firmly and turned to seek the captain. “We’re turning around and taking ye back. Yer mam will have me strung up if she thinks I had any part of this.”

Joanie began to cry quietly with fear but didn’t appear sure of where to find the comfort she craved. Marsali had an arm around Fergus while his rested on her shoulders pulling her close.

Claire was speechless as she stood a few feet away watching Marsali turn to glare defiantly at Jamie while Fergus swallowed, resolute but sheepish. Joanie was a frightened mess with tears trickling down her sallow cheeks and her eyes quickly growing red.

“Ye cannae send me back,” Marsali challenged Jamie. “For one, ye’re no my father and by yer own choice and two, Fergus and I are married. Where he goes, I go and where I go, Joanie goes.”

“Married?” Jamie blinked. “And when did ye manage that?”

“We were handfast this morning, Milord,” Fergus explained with a happy smile and a glance to Marsali.

“No,” Jamie said again as though simply saying it aloud would be enough to make it so. “And even if ye were properly wed, it isna an excuse for dragging yer sister halfway across the world on a whim!”

“Jamie,” Claire interrupted, scolding. Marsali’s sharp and accusing gaze fell on her but Claire’s attention was focused on Joanie. “Hello Joan,” she said quietly. “My name is Claire. You look like you’re feeling unwell.”

Joanie nodded still holding tight to Jamie who was also beginning to look green and had beads of sweat beginning to break out on his forehead.

“Aye. Captain!” he called. “Make for shore, if ye please!”

The captain laughed. “Even if I did, we’re too far underway. We’ll stop in Ireland for final provisions but that’s the best I can promise.”

Joanie vomited on the deck and her quiet tears became loud and embarrassed sobs.

Claire remembered a time when she’d been called to come pick Brianna up from school because she’d been ill. Brianna had been nine and fluctuated between a clammy and sickly pallor and a redness that seemed to leech from her hair into her face. When they were finally at home and Claire had Brianna tucked into bed, the girl had finally broken down sobbing over how she’d been sick in front of everyone and some of the boys had laughed at her while the girls had screamed in horror.

“It’s all right,” Claire said again in a warm and soothing tone, this time to Joanie.

Reflexively reaching to comfort and check the child for symptoms it might be more than just seasickness, she froze when Marsali shouted, “Dinna touch her ye English witch!” and rushed forward. Joanie began to cry harder.

“Marsali.” Jamie’s tone was cold and sharp. “Ye’ll _no_ speak to Claire like that if ye intend to remain on this ship.”

“Please, _ma chére_ ,” Fergus soothed. “Milady will not harm her. She is a healer and will help her to feel well again.”

Marsali clenched her teeth and glared at Jamie but stayed still while Claire returned to tending Joanie.

“Why don’t we let them talk and I’ll help get you cleaned up,” Claire suggested, glancing at Jamie who nodded his thanks. “Then I can give you something to settle your tummy and you can lie down and rest a bit.” She extended her hand for Joanie to take.

The girl looked at it a moment then looked up at Jamie. He smiled and gave her a nod of encouragement. But while she no longer looked wary about Claire, there was still something obviously bothering her. He bent himself to her level and whispered, “What is it, lass?”

“I… I’m sorry about the mess,” she whispered back, her eyes darting to the pile of sick on the deck. Tears spilled silently from her eyes again.

“DInna fash, Joanie,” Jamie assured her, keeping his voice down. “I’ve made a mess or two like that myself and am like to do so again before long. On deck up here isna so bad as down below. There ye dinna want it on the floor but up here, they’ll just drop a bucket to the sea, splash it across the boards and it’ll be clean again. Now go on and get ye some rest. I’ll be along to check on ye as soon as I’ve talked more wi’ yer sister.”

Joanie looked a bit relieved as she let Claire lead her to the stairs that led them below deck and to the first of the two cabins.

“Have a seat and I’ll be back in a moment,” Claire urged the young girl before departing only long enough to fetch some fresh water and blankets. “Rinse your mouth out with this,” she instructed Joanie, handing her a cup and then following with the bucket for her to spit into.

“Thank ye,” Joanie murmured when she’d finished.

“And do you feel like you’ll be sick again? Or has it passed?” Claire asked getting onto her knees so she could examine Joanie’s pupils and verify she wasn’t feverish. Then she wet a cloth and began wiping the girl’s face clear of tears and snot. Her face was red from the crying and nerves.

“It’s… gettin’ better… I think,” Joanie responded. “Is… is Da very angry do ye think? He cannae send us back, can he? I saw them handfast.”

“I’m not sure it’s the handfasting he’s most worried about,” Claire explained, moving to sit on the berth and bracing herself so she didn’t hit her head as the ship rolled with the swell. “I think he’s  worried about what your mother will have to say.”

Joanie’s lip trembled and more tears welled in her eyes.

“Tha’s why we had to come,” she whimpered. “Mam’s gone. The soldiers took her… for shooting Da.”

* * *

 “Someone turned over the pistol and told ‘em what Ma’d done to ye,” Marsali explained to Jamie having trouble meeting his eye for the first time since boarding.

“Marsali, ye must ken it wasna me nor would Claire. I didna want you and Joanie to suffer for yer mam’s mistakes,” Jamie hastily assured her, “not when her anger toward me wasna _wholly_ unjustified.”

“We know, Milord. It was Mistress Murray,” Fergus said.

“Jenny?” Jamie’s brow darkened with confusion.

“Aye, Milord. When she heard of her son… she believed it was punishment for her interference…” he glanced down at Marsali who was staring at their shoes on the deck. “She thought that if she could take steps to make it right, we would be rewarded in finding young Ian and bringing him safe home.”

Jamie rolled his eyes, both frustrated with Jenny and feeling her pain alongside his own guilt. Hadn’t he had similar thoughts about using the money to pay Laoghaire and keep Claire for himself.

“I see what ye mean, Marsali. Ye couldna leave her behind and if yer mam is… well, I understand how ye wouldna want to stay to be gawked at and pitied. But handfast or not, the two of you are not sharing a berth till ye’re _properly_ wed,” Jamie pressed. “And tha’s no like to happen till we reach Jamaica. So, Marsali, you and Joanie will share a cabin wi’ Claire and Fergus will bunk wi’ me.”

“What? Ye want me to share a room with the hoor that drove Ma to land herself in an English prison?” Marsali frowned and shook her head. “I’ll no do it. I’ll sleep aboard deck in the open before I sleep in the same room as her.”

Jamie stepped closer, looming over his stepdaughter. “Wi’ yer mam gone ye could have stayed with her kin in Scotland but ye _chose_ to come here and put yerselves under _my_ care as yer father by marriage.”

“I _chose_ Fergus,” Marsali snapped taking her own step closer, peering up at him from under a judgemental brow she inherited from her mother.

“And Fergus has been a son to me for many years now—to me _and_ Claire,” Jamie smiled in challenge. “Like it or not, Claire’s a mother to ye now so ye might want to try makin’ the best of it. She’ll be a part of yer life so long as ye choose to be here. But…” he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, still smiling. “If ye wish to disembark when we stop for final provisions and make yer way back home from there, ye’re free to do so.”

Marsali’s face screwed up with anger and frustration but she said nothing more, just turned on her heel and stalked toward the bow of the ship. Fergus shot an apologetic smile at Jamie but before he had turned to follow Marsali, his resignation and joy had started to reassert their control of his expression.

Jamie had a difficult time begrudging the lad his happiness, even if he found it thoroughly surprising that Marsali had been the one to capture his affections—and vice versa. He watched as Fergus went to stand beside Marsali at the rail and slipped an arm protectively around her. Marsali tilted her head to rest on his shoulder and they looked so peaceful and content.

Jamie swallowed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to maintain his anger and frustration for long—certainly not as long as Marsali with Laoghaire’s blood running in her veins. He was ashamed he felt so little regret over learning Laoghaire had been imprisoned and knew part of it was the unexpected joy of having the lasses with him again. He only hoped Claire didn’t mind. How would she feel being asked to help him raise Laoghaire’s children? She’d been so hurt seeing Joanie that first night. His stomach churned dangerously at the thought of seeing that betrayal creep back into her eyes when she looked at him.

Hurrying to the railing, Jamie leaned over and was sick.

* * *

 Claire had calmed and reassured Joanie as best she could with so little insight into what had happened. She had gotten the girl to lie down in the berth before turning her attention to brewing some ginger tea to help settle her own stomach, though its knots were more the result of growing anxiety and uncertainty than from the rise and fall of the ship.

Joanie had fallen asleep when Jamie knocked on the cabin door and peeked his head in to check on them.

Claire was on her feet in a moment pouring him a cup of tea and urging him to sit down.

“You look positively green,” she whispered.

He grimaced as he swallowed the tea and set the cup down. “I’ll do,” he assured her unconvincingly then stared at Joanie curled up in the bunk. She was perhaps the only person aboard who could comfortably fit in it.

“She’s settled down a bit,” Claire informed him. “She’s… quite upset about what happened to her mother. Is it true? She’s been arrested?”

“Jenny,” Jamie said with a nod. “Trying to balance the scales of her actions. Marsali was right to bring her with them. Time away will help defuse the taint from Laoghaire. I’m just sorry it all came to this.”

“Well… as far as the list of people who might bear blame for all that has happened, I think the only thing I’m certain of is that Joanie and Marsali are _not_ on it.” She looked over to the little girl sleeping in the berth, her cheek resting on her palm and the blankets cuddled to her chest. “It’s not their fault that Laoghaire is their mother.”

“We had our differences, Laoghaire and I— _many_ of them,” Jamie murmured also watching Joanie’s slumber. “But I must say she always did what was best for her children.”

“With the recent exception of shooting you and getting herself arrested,” Claire jested, though she couldn’t dull the sharp, resentful edge of her words.

“With that exception, aye,” Jamie conceded then turned to Claire, pausing to gather himself before continuing. “I ken the vow I swore to Laoghaire when I wed her is… invalid… but it was a vow to more than just her… it concerned her girls as well. That one… I cannot consider it similarly invalid. They need me now, to watch out for them and to provide for them. With all I’ve done… I _cannot_ turn my back on them—nor do I want to.”

Claire blinked and swallowed, glanced at Joanie then back to Jamie. Her tone was soft and warm as she reached across the small table to put her hand on Jamie’s. “Nor should you. They are _not_ their mother and you’re right—they need you now.”

“They could use a mother too,” Jamie said with a question in his voice.

She chuckled with disbelief and shock. “You can’t be serious, Jamie… They hate me.”

“Joanie doesna hate ye and Marsali… she’ll come around.”

Claire shot him a look that left voicing her every doubt on that count unnecessary. Then she sighed. “I don’t suppose we have much choice in the matter.” She rose and crossed to help raise him from his chair. He was beginning to look decidedly ill and like he regretted drinking the tea. “However much Marsali may try to cast me as the evil step-mother, I shall endeavor to kill her with kindness.”

Jamie followed her guiding hands as she led him to the hallway and next door to his own berth. “Whether it be with kindness or no, I should think killing her would only secure ye that position.” He lay back on the bedding and gripped the edge of the berth to steady himself but groaned as the ship lurched over a steep swell.


	2. Chapter 2

The ship rocked hard and Claire rolled into the wall of the top berth, catching herself just before she smacked her forehead. From Marsali’s groan below, she hadn’t fared as well. 

There was a quiet murmur and further subdued grumbling from Marsali as Joanie slept on, buffered by her older sister’s body and her own smaller size. 

Claire yawned and squinted at the small porthole window on the other side of the small cabin. It was difficult to tell whether the light coming in was the glow of predawn or unfiltered moonlight. The water could be incredibly reflective when there was little cloud cover and the moon was close to full. It didn’t matter what time it was. The sloshing of the water so close was triggering the need to void her bladder. 

There was a trick to climbing in and out of the top berth without bashing her head on something or falling unceremoniously out and onto the floor. Claire was getting closer to mastering it. She rubbed her head where she’d grazed it on the lip that came down from the ceiling as she crossed to search for the chamber pot, praying the ship would stay steady long enough for her to pee without either falling over or sloshing the pot’s contents onto her bare feet. 

She felt Marsali’s eyes on her as she ducked behind the small curtain in the corner that offered her a little bit of privacy. It was more unnerving to discover Marsali still watching her through narrow eyes as she made her way back to the berth. 

When she got close enough, Claire saw the way Joanie was familiarly sprawled in the berth with her limbs thrown across Marsali and making an already cramped berth even smaller. It reminded her of when Brianna would crawl into bed with her during thunderstorms or after she’d had a nightmare. No matter how many times Claire would straighten Brianna out and shuffle her to her own side of the bed, she would always wake with a hand or occasionally a foot in her face and only an inch of space to call her own. 

The memory had summoned a nostalgic smile, one that Marsali saw and resented. She took hold of Joanie’s limbs and rearranged them so that her sister was back on her side of the berth, then with her eyes still on Claire, Marsali resettled herself lying on her side with her back to the wall. Finally she draped her arm over Joanie though whether it was meant to be protective or to restrict the smaller girl’s movements as she slept was unclear. 

Claire bit her lip to conceal her amusement as she successfully negotiated her way back up and into her berth. She lay on her back and smiled as she stretched her limbs to the full extent the cramped space allowed. There were moments when Joanie looked so much like Brianna had as a child… And then seeing her with Marsali… 

Would Brianna have come to her bed seeking comfort half so often if she’d had Faith to turn to as well? Claire had never had a sibling of her own and so always had little experience to base her wonderings on when her mind drifted to what Faith would be like if she’d lived and how she and Brianna would have been together as sisters. Marsali certainly expressed a stubbornness that some would see as Fraser in nature but what was the underlying force driving that stubborn streak? For the Frasers, it was undeniably love, the need to protect those most dear. That’s what would have driven Faith as Claire had seen it drive Jamie, Brianna, and Jenny. 

She turned her mind back to the sisters sleeping below her. What drove Marsali’s stubbornness? Was it the same as what had driven Laoghaire’s for so many years? That selfish need to have what she wanted and damn the consequences to anyone else, even those who depended on her? Laoghaire’s stubbornness in holding onto Jamie—not even to have him for herself, but to prevent anyone else from having him—had left her daughters in an incredibly vulnerable position. What would Marsali do if she ever had to choose between having Fergus and protecting Joanie?

Claire shivered and rolled over. Just because Joanie looked like Brianna didn’t mean they were entirely alike and the same was true for Marsali and Laoghaire. The girl might be Laoghaire’s daughter and have her hair and some of her attitude, but Marsali was her own person and it was up to her to decide who that was. 

* * *

Marsali put the extra bowl of parritch in front of Joanie as she sat at the table across from Fergus. She hadn’t swallowed three bites before she felt the pressure of his foot on hers. She felt her cheeks go hot and lifted her eyes to meet his.

“Is there honey I can put on this?” Joanie asked, drawing Marsali’s attention away from Fergus. “It’s so thick I can hardly mix it and it doesna taste like anything.”

“There’s no honey and no like to be any till we make port in Jamaica in a few months’ time so ye’d best get used to it while there’s parritch at all.”

“If you ask Milady, she might be able to speak with the cook to find something that will make it taste better,” Fergus suggested. 

Marsali used her free foot to kick Fergus’ off hers. He raised an innocent eyebrow to her glare. 

Joanie looked up from the parritch sticking like glue to her spoon and caught the glances back and forth between them. “I think I’m done. My stomach isna fully settled yet from yesterday. Do ye ken where Da is?” 

“He is indisposed. His stomach is not settling well either. Perhaps some fresh air will help you, though,” Fergus said with a look to Marsali. “There is not much to do aside from walk on the deck but I would be happy to go with you and answer your questions.”

“Can we, Marsali? Please? I didna get to see much when we came aboard yesterday. Ye had us below deck so fast and then we were barely up top again when—”

“Aye, Joanie, I was there too, was I not? I ken how it was and yes, we can walk about up top just as soon as I’m done with my parritch. I’m no so choosy about it as you,” she said in a scolding tone before taking a big mouthful to demonstrate her own willingness to adjust to their new circumstances without complaint. It tasted terrible and stuck to the roof of her mouth but she grimaced through the bite and managed to swallow. 

She gave Fergus a small kick under the table when she caught him from the corner of her eye trying desperately not to laugh. He looked more triumphant than she did when she swallowed the last bite and he pushed himself up from the table. 

“Shall we,  _ mademoiselles _ ?” 

They made their way up onto the deck and started to stroll along the rail. Fergus was able to give explain the technical terms for some of the rigging and was relieved that his limited knowledge hadn’t been completely exhausted before Joanie’s interest in it. They’d come across Yi Tien Cho with a bucket of water and an odd looking paintbrush tracing unfamiliar characters on the boards of the main deck. 

Fergus and Marsali left Joanie learning to draw the Chinese characters and continued on their way together, more alone than they had been since the final decision to forge ahead together had been made. There were several of the crew on deck busy in their own ways. There were some in the rigging tending to the sails and a few sitting and mending nets while others tossed the repaired ones over the side to test them and hopefully catch something to supplement their suppers.

Marsali slipped her arm through Fergus’ and leaned her head against his shoulder as they sidestepped the slippery mess on deck where the latest catch had been dumped. She felt the chuckle ripple through his chest before his kiss pressed to the top of her head. 

“Were you as miserable last night as I was?” she asked. “I’d hoped to share my bed with you and instead I had Joanie kicking me in shins and smackin’ me in the face.”

“And what makes you think I will not do such things sleeping next to you?” Fergus teased.

Marsali laughed as they reached the end of the stretch they could walk and turned to head back. Joanie was on her hands and knees beside Yi Tien Cho, mimicking his movements with the long-handled brush. 

“Though, I would take the kicks and the elbows and the hitting over the smell and the sound of Milord’s retching,” Fergus confessed. “One is bad enough but both together is enough to make  _ my _ stomach sour in sympathy.” 

“Poor Da. Is there nothing to be done for it?”

“Milady is giving him a special tea that is supposed to help but it does not stay in his stomach long enough to work yet,” Fergus explained. “But I am sure she will think of another way to help Milord.”

Marsali groaned. “Will ye stop goin’ on about her like she’s a saint? Ye ken she’s the reason—”

“Marsali, stop,” Fergus snapped. “I understand that you have heard things about Milady from your mother but what about the things you have heard from me, hmm? I knew her too and so did Milord. Have you not seen how happy he is now she is restored to him? Do you think he could love someone so awful as what your mother says? She is not a saint but she is not a witch or a whore either. And given what your mother did to Milord and how she speaks of  _ me _ , she is not one to be speaking ill of others.”

Marsali pulled her hand from Fergus’ arm and stormed off only to realize they’d reached the far end of the deck again and needed to turn back once more. It was true that her mother could be ungenerous with her words and Marsali had told her so on many occasions—especially when her mother fell back to calling Fergus a son of a whore—but Marsali couldn’t help the way hearing other people say such things riled her up to defend her mother. And look at all that her mother had suffered over her years? Two husbands dead and buried, two mouths to feed and those lassies who couldn’t help with the farm the way sons would have. Another husband who at the very least sent money and didn’t beat her but who promises to leave her altogether when another woman comes along. 

Marsali sighed and looked to Fergus who was standing waiting for her to rejoin him as she made her way back along the rail. Before she moved again she saw a flurry of activity past his shoulder and squinted to see better. He turned to follow the direction of her attention and hearing something, ran to the hatch and called down for help. 

Looking back to the group, Marsali spotted Yi Tien Cho gesturing for people to back away. That was when she spotted Joanie’s legs. She wasn’t standing watching the commotion; she was lying on the deck. Whatever had happened, had happened to Joanie. Marsali ran.


	3. Chapter 3

“Milady, Milady!” Fergus’ panicked voice came from above. Claire looked up through the grate of the hatch. 

“What is it, Fergus?”

“You need to come up right away! Joanie has hurt her head and there is blood.”  

Claire dropped the pot of tea she’d been carrying for Jamie and ran. She cursed at her skirts for getting in her way as she headed up the steps but immediately forgot that minor frustration as she scurried across the tilting deck to where Yi Tien Cho had cleared a space on the deck around Joanie. Only Marsali and Fergus were by the unconscious and bleeding girl, Fergus doing his best to hold and calm his fiancée.

“What happened?” Claire asked as she knelt over Joanie to assess the damage. There was blood on the deck that appeared to be coming from an abrasion on her scalp, about the placement of the parietal lobe. It wasn’t deep but it was long and, being a head wound, there was enough blood to cause alarm. She needed to clean the wound to see if it would need stitches but she was pretty sure it was just a graze. Joanie had probably been knocked unconscious from hitting the deck itself. The concussion would take her longer to recover from, especially on a rolling ship. 

“Fish water on the deck,” Yi Tien Cho said with a wave to the spreading mess from where the nets had been hauled up and dumped nearby. “She stood to look. Slipped and hit her head here.” His gesturing indicated one of the guns on deck, carefully secured against the rolling of the ship but still a dangerous blunt object when those onboard weren’t similarly restrained. 

“Joanie,” Marsali cried reaching as though to shake Joanie awake again. “Joanie.”

Claire intercepted Marsali’s hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Marsali, I need you to take a deep breath. I’m going to take care of your sister. I don’t want to move her until I can get a better look at her head wound, but I’m fairly certain it’s a case of things looking worse than they are. I think she’s more stunned than seriously injured. If she needs stitches, there’s a chance she’ll wake up while I’m putting them in and I’ll need you to keep her calm if that happens.”

Marsali looked at Claire and saw the familiar look of fear and shock loved ones wore when at a loss for what to do. The girl wasn’t seeing her and probably wasn’t really listening either. She was too overwhelmed with all the what ifs and possible worst case scenarios. So Claire turned to Yi Tien Cho and issued her instructions on what to fetch for supplies.

“Marsali, can you take Joanie’s hand and talk to her? Don’t try to wake her up yet. Just let her know that you’re here and reassure her.”

Too scared to argue, Marsali did as she was told. She talked to Joanie, prompted by questions from Claire as she poured water on Joanie’s head and prodded the scalp. It required stitches but only three. Fergus helped keep Joanie still while Claire made quick work of it. Marsali clung to Joanie’s hand, half-hoping the touch of Claire’s needle would jolt Joanie back to consciousness but more relieved her little sister remained unaware of the pain. 

As Claire cleaned up her supplies, she turned to Marsali again. “You can try to wake her now. I’d rather we didn’t try to move her while she’s still unconscious. Once we get her back to the cabin berth, I want someone to stay with her and wake her every two hours and ask her some questions. She needs rest but I also need to monitor her condition.” 

Marsali nodded before reaching down and giving Joanie’s arm a squeeze. 

“ _ Dùisg mo phiuthar _ ,” Marsali crooned. “ _ Tha an leabaidh nas cofhurtail. _ ” 

Joanie’s eyelids fluttered and Marsali broke into a relieved smile. 

“ _ Dúisg Seonag, _ ” she continued until Joanie was squinting up at her. 

Joan moved to touch her head but Claire gently caught her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“You hurt your head, sweetheart,” she explained. “I had to put in a few stitches but you’re all right. You can’t touch them or the bandage just now.”

“It itches.” Joanie’s voice was just a whisper. Her eyes shifted to Marsali.

“Ye must do as Mistress Claire says,” Marsali told her. “Do ye think ye can sit up?”

“Go slow,” Claire added, moving her hand to the child’s back for extra support. 

“My head hurts,” Joanie whimpered, a few self-conscious tears slipping along the line of her nose.

“Of course it does, ye goat,” Marsali teased lightly, laughing and putting Joanie at ease. “I think ye left a dent in the gun ye hit but there’s naught Mistress Claire can do for that poor, wounded fool.” 

Joanie flushed but let Marsali and Claire get her to her feet, keeping her steady as they walked her to the steps leading back below deck. 

* * *

“How’s the patient doing?” Claire asked as she peered through the door to the second cabin and found Jamie. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall and a bucket between his legs. The cabin reeked of vomit and the chamberpot causing Claire’s nose to wrinkle.

“I’m not dead yet,” Jamie groaned. “But I dinna think it can be much longer if ye want to sit and bide a while.”

She brushed sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes. His skin was clammy and pale. 

“Ye didna bring that tea with ye?” Jamie asked, peering at her with wariness. She didn’t blame him for not appreciating the ginger-heavy concoction when even that had a tendency to come back up as often as he kept it down. 

“There was a bit of an emergency I needed to see to,” Claire said settling onto the floor next to him and letting him lean into her, sighing at the soft give she provided in contrast to the hard planks on his other sides. She informed him of what had happened to Joanie.

“I thought I heard a stramash,” he remarked, shifting as though to stand. He was too weak to fight both gravity and Claire pulling him back down to the floor, however. “I should go to see the lass,” he explained in a whisper.

“When you can stand and cross the room without toppling over and getting yourself a matching concussion,” Claire told him. “I’m going to see if Yi Tien Cho has any ideas. He’s the only other one aboard who seems to have any knowledge when it comes to healing. For now, Marsali’s with her and Fergus is checking in on them regularly too.”

“Would it surprise ye if I said I’m a bit surprised that Marsali let ye near the lass?” 

Claire chuckled. “There was a moment I thought she might fight me but I’ve dealt with difficult next of kin before. She was just scared for her sister and I can’t blame her there. But I think it’s helped. At least she knows I’m not out to hurt them.”

Jamie shook his head as much as he could manage, which was just a single turn of his head. “She never thought that,” he assured her. “She just needed to hate ye for Laoghaire’s sake till she had an excuse not to. Now she’ll start to love ye for Joanie’s sake.” 

“I hope you’re right.” Claire turned her head and kissed Jamie on the cheek. She let him close his eyes and rest against her for a while until he managed to drop off to sleep. When Yi Tien Cho and Fergus came looking for her, they helped her get him back into his berth leaving the bucket close at hand.

* * *

Relieved that Yi Tien Cho had ideas and supplies on hand for treating Jamie’s seasickness in the morning, Claire finally returned to her cabin to rest herself. It had been a long and stressful day at sea and she prayed they would calm a bit because she didn’t want to have three months of days like that ahead of her.

Marsali had climbed into bed with Joanie and let her little sister drape herself in the way she found most comfortable, which undoubtedly was the least comfortable position for Marsali. Joanie’s head was cushioned on Marsali’s chest, her arm tight around Marsali’s waist. Joanie was sleeping deeply as Marsali played with the red ends of her braids and monitored the slow, steady breaths. 

She looked up to Claire and gave her a tentative smile as the older woman undressed in the dim light and climbed into the berth above. 


	4. Chapter 4

“I dinna see why ye didna work on making yer own wedding dress while we were at sea. Ye kent ye would wed Fergus eventually,” Joanie remarked as she held the pink fabric of the skirt in place for Claire to pin and stitch as quickly as she might. The stitches weren’t tiny or neat and wouldn’t hold for long but they only had to make it through the ceremony and the brief celebration afterwards. 

“And what might I have used?” Marsali asked her sister. “A tattered sail and fishing line?”

“Ye could ha’ asked Mother Claire if ye might make use of something she had. Ye’re doin’ it now,” Joanie pointed out. “And if ye’d taken yer time wi’ it, it wouldna feel so much like ye were borrowing it. Ye could ha’ made it yer own.”

Marsali shifted her weight and nearly tripped in the process. There was simply too much skirt to contend with and Claire’s attempt to create tucks that would get it out of the way were failing. As Joanie had pointed out, there wasn’t enough time to execute the attempt effectively. 

Claire rocked back and rested on her heels with a defeated sigh. Marsali frowned too and Joanie gave up on the section she held aloft. 

“It’s no use,” Claire voiced. “It wouldn’t be so bad if you could wear a few petticoats or if you had the panniers I wore with it originally but this… The skirt is too heavy for the stitches to hold.”

“It’s fine,” Marsali said, resigned. “I dinna much care what I wear and Fergus willna either.”

Claire shot to her feet, startling Marsali so that she did trip over the skirt, luckily landing on a nearby chair Claire had been using while trying to place pins and stitches higher on the skirt. 

“I’ll be back momentarily,” she told the girls, hurrying for the door. “I’ve had an idea but I need something from Father Fogden if it’s to work.”

Joanie and Marsali looked at one another. Joanie laughed and Marsali smiled but only after Joanie looked back to the trunk of clothes that had been brought from the ship. 

“Did ye ken Da had all these?” Joanie asked. “I dinna remember seeing them.”

“He left them at Lallybroch when he came to Balriggan when he wed Mam,” Marsali explained. “Dinna ken did he no want her near them or did she no want them near to her.” 

Joanie frowned. “D’ye think Mam would want ye no to wear one of Mother Claire’s dresses for yer wedding?”

Marsali was silent a moment, her fingers rubbing the pink silk of the skirt, still in fine condition despite its age. “I dinna think she would, no. I think she’d say a lass ought to wear her own dress for her wedding. She’d likely say it was bad luck… But I also ken she’d say I ought not to be marrying Fergus so I’m no sure I care overmuch for her opinions on this matter.”

Joanie’s mouth fell open in surprise and Marsali turned away so her sister wouldn’t see the color of shame and anger rise in her cheeks. It didn’t last long as Claire soon returned with several metal rings in her hands.

“What’re those and what do ye mean to do wi’ ‘em?” Marsali asked.

“They’re the steel rings from around some old barrels,” Claire explained. “I think I can fashion you a hoop skirt that will help keep your skirts out of the way… at least enough so you won’t trip over them.” She sat on the chair and set to work with some sturdy scraps of cloth, tying the hoops together at several points. 

“Do you think it’s bad luck for a lass to borrow a dress for her wedding?” Joanie asked, earning a scolding glare from Marsali.

Claire scoffed. “Not in the least. I borrowed a gown when I wed Jamie and… well, we haven’t had the best of luck in terms of circumstance, but as far as one another is concerned, I think we’ve been quite fortunate.”

“Why’d ye borrow a dress?” Joanie pressed, taking up a spot on the floor and drawing her knees up as she watched Claire work. 

“Our wedding was hasty, like your sister’s is turning out,” Claire said with a smile, recalling the circumstances more than twenty years earlier. “Well… that’s not entirely true. Marsali and Fergus have courted one another longer than Jamie and I had.” She laughed again. “Now that I think of it, we’ve been on that ship longer than Jamie and I had even known each other when we wed.”

Both girls looked at her with surprise. Claire flushed but continued telling the story of her wedding to Jamie as she tested the makeshift hoop skirt and brought it over for Marsali to try on, then draped the skirt over it. She beamed when Marsali was able to walk across the room without stepping on the extra fabric. The hem would be filthy before too long but it would need to be raised anyway for Marsali to wear it again. 

“It doesna sound like a poor wedding,” Marsali confessed when Claire had finished, heavily editing the events of the days that followed as she got to know her new husband. 

“It wasn’t. It was lovely. And yours will be lovely too. You certainly are.”

Marsali blushed as she looked down at the pink silk skirt. The hoops felt odd and it was uncomfortable when they bumped into her legs but the effect on the skirt was indeed lovely. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Fergus’ face.

“Mam’s dress was lovely when she wed Da,” Joanie said quietly, her brow furrowed as she looked at no one in particular. “The ceremony was a bit dull. I thought Mam and Da were happy—they smiled back when I looked at them, and Da seemed happy when Marsali and I got to dance wi’ him after. But…” The frown deepened and she turned to her older sister. “He didna dance wi’ Mam, did he?”

Marsali flushed deeper, this time with something more like shame or embarrassment. “No, I dinna believe he did.”

“That’s enough talk of other ladies’ weddings,” Claire said brightly, banishing the spectre of the young bride’s absent mother from the room. “We need to get ourselves to Marsali’s wedding before the groom comes looking for her.”

Claire walked with Marsali, helping her keep her footing as they struck sand at the edge of the beach. Joanie had run ahead and taken a position with Jamie. He had his hands resting on her shoulders, fixing her into place. 

“Good luck,” Claire whispered as she parted ways with Marsali, leaving her to take the last few steps toward Fergus. 

Jamie reached up and slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him while still holding onto Joanie with the other. Claire rested her head against him and slid one of her arms around his waist. She would tell him about arranging the dress later when they were in bed—a proper bed on sturdy dry land for a change, albeit a brief one. 

Marsali grinned at them as Fergus recited his vows, using the full name Jamie had given him as a nuptial gift of sorts. 

Claire wiped the tears from her eyes as Fergus kissed his bride then turned to Jamie who bestowed a kiss of his own. 

A moment later they realized how quiet Joanie was and Jamie glanced down to see her looking disappointed.

“What is it,  _ a leannan _ ?” 

“Ye’re all Frasers now,” she noted. “I want to be a Fraser too.”

Jamie looked at Claire who pressed a hand to her mouth as more tears filled her eyes. He knelt in the sand in front of her.

“If ye truly wish to take the name Fraser, ye’re more than welcome to it,” he told her. “ _ But _ … I want ye to think on it a while first. It’s no trivial thing, changing the name yer parents gave ye when ye were born. Know ye’re a part of this family whether ye use the name Fraser or not.” 

Joanie nodded. “I promise I’ll think on it.” And she slipped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a time jump from last chapter to this one.

Joanie was grinning from ear to ear as she helped Fergus and Jamie pack the wagon they would be taking to Fraser’s Ridge. Marsali waited inside with the baby, unwilling to keep him out in the sun and the dust and quietly dreading the prospect of at least three days travel with him before reaching a proper house again.

“Will I stay in the cabin ye built with Mother Claire, or will I be stayin’ wi’ Marsali and Fergus and the bairn?” Joanie asked, holding a large crate in place while Jamie tied it down.

“There’s plenty of room for ye in either cabin so we’ll have to see which suits us all best when we get there,” Jamie responded. “Yer sister may wish ye to stay wi’ them and help her wi’ Germain.” He finished with the knot and reached for her to lift her down.

Joanie sighed as he placed her on the ground. She hadn’t liked being left behind when Jamie, Claire, and Ian had gone to survey the land and begin clearing and settling the land. Fergus and Marsali had both been busy with finding work to bring in and set aside a little money. She’d helped Marsali with a little of the needlework but didn’t care for it. As Marsali’s pregnancy progressed, Joanie had taken on more of the chores and ran about to the shops and such. The birth of her nephew had been exciting and terrifying and she didn’t mind helping Marsali with him… but she was growing tired of it too. The town was still strange to her and with Germain’s arrival she felt less sure of her place with her sister and Fergus. The prospect of living on the Ridge with Da and Mother Claire and Ian was thrilling and she couldn’t wait to see it given what Da had said about it. 

She strode around the wagon and toward the house to help Marsali with the food provisions, looking back to where Jamie was leaning against the edge, pausing to mop his brow. 

It was out of the corner of her eye, but the flash of red hair caught her attention. 

A woman stood in the shadows between the two buildings across the way, watching them. The woman drew further into the cramped space when she noticed Joanie staring back. Maybe it wasn’t a woman, after all. They appeared to be wearing breeks.

Biting her lip, Joanie continued into the house and held Germain while Marsali finished wrapping loaves of bread and a small wheel of cheese to add to the pack on the table. 

“D’ye think ye can carry that?” Marsali asked, lifting the pack from the table and gauging the weight. 

“If ye take the bairn back I can,” Joanie assured her, holding Germain out and wrinkling her nose. “He’ll need a fresh clout ‘fore we leave.” She quickly took the pack, hauling the strap over her shoulder and bowing under the weight as she slowly made her way to the door. 

She paused in the doorway to see if the person was still there. They were.

“Da!” Joanie called out, too tired to carry the pack further. 

Jamie looked up and laughed, striding over and taking the pack from her, swinging it into the air with ease. Joanie followed him to the wagon, turning her back to the far side of the street. 

“Da,” she hissed. “There’s someone over there keeps watchin’ us.” 

Jamie looked down at her, brow furrowed. “Over where?” He kept his voice low.

“‘Tween the houses cross the way. Why’re they watchin’ us?”

Jamie’s head inclined like he was looking up the street but his eyes moved to the corner, looking for the person Joanie described. 

“Stay wi’ the wagon,” he instructed, turning and crossing the street with a sure stride.

Joanie watched. The person he went after pulled further back but didn’t appear to be trying to get away through to the other side. Then Joanie couldn’t see anymore because Jamie followed and his back blocked her view.

* * *

Brianna had been told she was in luck, that there was a young family supposed to be heading to Fraser’s Ridge soon. Or perhaps they had already gone. No, someone had seen the one-handed man earlier trying to sell some things they wouldn’t be able to bring with them. If she hurried she should be able to catch them and inquire after accompanying them.

The directions to the boarding rooms where the young family were supposed to be staying had seemed clear but without a map or marked streets, Brianna found herself stopping to ask for additional directions twice. 

The seamstress pointed her to what wasn’t quite an alleyway between two buildings—not an alleyway as she thought of them, at least. It was wider though just as full of litter as she was used to. 

She knew him as soon as she saw him and her feet ceased to move. 

Jamie Fraser.

He was helping to load a wagon, undoubtedly to escort the young family she’d heard about to the Ridge. She hadn’t considered that possibility. She’d been expecting to surprise both him and her mother when she reached the Ridge. 

Brianna wasn’t prepared to approach him here… but it looked like she had little choice. 

She took a few steps closer to the end of the alleyway, unable to take her eyes off him. He was bigger than she’d imagined, his shoulders broader, his hair longer. 

There was a red-headed girl with him that gave her pause. She seemed too old to be the young couple’s daughter but the way the dark-haired man treated her was familiar and easy… perhaps she was his sister…

The girl spotted her and Brianna took a few steps back into the safety of the shadows. She wasn’t ready yet. She needed to wait until the others had gone back into the boarding house, until Jamie was alone. She couldn’t do this with other people watching. 

The girl went inside and the dark-haired man appeared to leave on an errand.

Jamie was alone testing the knots he’d made securing various trunks, crates, and loose pieces of furniture in the back of the wagon. It was her chance.

But she couldn’t make her feet move. Why couldn’t her mother be there? It would be so much easier if she could see her first. It would keep her nerves from getting the better of her. 

The girl reappeared in the doorway and called out, “Da!” 

Jamie looked up and laughed, strolling over to help her with the pack that was clearly too heavy for her. 

Da. The girl had called him Da and he’d responded. 

Jenny and Ian had said Jamie and Claire were together and living in the colonies. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t been married while they were apart. Her mother had been married to Frank for most of those twenty years, after all. And though their search for Jamie hadn’t turned up a new wife, that didn’t mean he hadn’t had one. Or another daughter. 

That would make the red-headed girl her half-sister. 

She hadn’t realized it, but Jamie had spotted her and was coming toward her. 

Brianna took a few steps back before her resolve took over. She had come all this way to meet her father and see her mother again. She wouldn’t let the prospect of having more family than she realized get in the way. After all, she’d been welcomed so warmly at Lallybroch and had thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her cousins. How different could an unexpected sister be. 

“I dinna ken who ye are,” Jamie Fraser’s voice called, soothing more than threatening. “If ye have business wi’ me, ye’d best be sayin’ so. I’m leavin’ today and I’ll no be back for some time so ye’ll no be gettin’ another chance.”

“It’s Brianna,” she responded when she found her voice. “I… I came looking for you. For you and my mother.” 

Jamie took a shuddering breath and seemed to stagger, catching himself against the building to his right. Brianna rushed forward to be sure he was alright, hesitating at the last when she found him looking into her face. There was recognition there that she hadn’t expected. 

“Ye look like yer photos,” he told her, his voice breaking. “I kent ye’d be grown cause I’ve seen ye so in them… but I hadna realized ye’d be  _ so _ grown.” 

Brianna chuckled with relief. “You’re bigger than I thought you’d be too,” she confessed. “Mama said yer were tall and… but I couldn’t quite picture you.” 

“Yer mam will be beside herself when she sees ye. Here she is expectin’ Fergus and Marsali, Joanie and the new bairn…” 

“You’re leaving for the Ridge, right? I was hoping to find someone who could show me the way so I could surprise you… but I wasn’t expecting to find  _ you _ here.”

“I wasna expecting ever to see ye,” he murmured. “Can… will ye step into the light so I can see ye properly?” 

Brianna nodded and followed him out of the alleyway, surprised to find her legs unsteady as the sunlight temporarily blinded her. 

“Ye look like yer mother,” Jamie said, awe heavy in his voice. He reached up and lightly ran his fingers over her cheek.

“Mama? She told me I look like you… and I have to say,” she brushed her braid over her shoulder so it fell down her back, “I think she was right.”

“It’s no yer coloring or yer features,” Jamie explained, his focus on her so intent she could feel heat rising in her cheeks. “It’s how ye carry yerself. Ye dinna cower or shrink from the world. Ye hold yer head high and face it.”

Brianna tilted her head and furrowed her brow. “You’ve only just met me.”

“I told ye—I’ve seen yer photos. And heard all yer mam could think to tell me of ye, from the time ye were naught but a wee bairn, smaller’n Germain is now.” 

“Who are they?” Brianna nodded toward the wagon and the boarding house behind it. “And is that little girl… who I think she is?” 

“Yer mam must have told ye of Fergus,” Jamie remarked.

“The French pickpocket you brought back from Paris? Oh, that’s  _ him _ ?”

Jamie nodded. “And his wife, Marsali. Germain is their new bairn. The lass is Marsali’s sister, Joanie.” 

“She… I heard her call you ‘Da,’” Brianna confessed, looking at the street, unable to meet his eye.

“The two lasses are my stepdaughters. I wed their mother and have the caring of them. It didna work wi’ Laoghaire and the situation went worse when yer mam came back to me.”

“Laoghaire? Laoghaire Mackenzie?” Brianna scoffed.

Jamie frowned. “I’ve heard enough on her from yer mother so ye needna scold me further. Besides, Laoghaire shot me and landed herself in prison for it. Marsali’s no my responsibility now she’s wed but Joanie… I dinna begrudge the keeping of her. It’s been hard bein’ parted from her these months while we started the settlement on the Ridge. But Marsali needed her and it was safer for her here.”

“So… she  _ is _ a sort of sister after all,” Brianna murmured, looking past Jamie to where Joanie sat perched on the bench of the wagon, having climbed up to try and get a better view of what they were about. 

“If ye like to think of her so. I dinna ken what she’ll make of ye. We havena told many folk about ye. But if ye’re ready, I suppose now’s as good a time as any to be makin’ introductions.” 

They both hesitated. 

“Can I…” Brianna began but then threw her arms around him before she lost the nerve. She smiled into his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her back and held her tight. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: I know you just gave us an adopted daughters update but while 4x07 isn't going to be one of my favs I did love seeing Bree and Joannie bonding and I kinda thought it would be nice to see something similar in the adopted daughters story?

Marsali rested in the back of the wagon with the baby, nestled among pillows and quilts between the carefully restrained crates. Joanie sat with Brianna at the front, helping her guide the horses as much as was necessary with Fergus and Jamie leading the way. 

“What’s it like in Boston?” Joanie asked keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t disturb Marsali who was so thoroughly exhausted from tending Germain through the night she managed to sleep even as they wound their way over the uneven path through the woods. 

“It’s bigger than Wilmington,” Brianna explained, reminding herself not to give too much away. “It’s more crowded too so it’s dirtier. Gets colder in the wintertime I think—I haven’t spent enough time in the mountains this far south and Boston’s near the ocean so that keeps it from getting too bad.”

“Was it a long journey then? Did ye come by ship or over land?”

“It was a  _ very _ long journey,” Brianna chuckled. “I didn’t know my parents were in the colonies so I went looking for them in Scotland first. Can’t say I regret it though or I’d never have met Auntie Jenny and Uncle Ian.”

“I miss them,” Joanie lamented. “I ken I should be angry wi’ Auntie Jenny for what she did to Mam, but Uncle Ian was always sae kind to me. Were ye there over Hogmanay? They have the best dancin’ and feastin’ at Lallybroch for Hogmanay. It’s where Mam met Da. Marsali and I saw him standin’ alone and asked him to dance wi’ us. He and Mam were wed by the time spring planting started.” The smile that bloomed on Joanie’s face at the memory of that fateful celebration wilted suddenly. “He’d gone for Edinburgh by the end o’ that summer and didna come to stay at Balriggan when he visited at Hogmanay next. And we didna go to the Hogmanay festivities at Lallybroch—Mam didna want to see him wi’ other folks about. We visited after, before he went back to Edinburgh.”

“I’m sure his going had nothing to do with you and your sister,” Brianna said quietly. She remembered all too well the nights she lay in bed, her parents believing her asleep keeping their voices low as they fought downstairs but both smiling at her over breakfast the next morning as if it hadn’t happened. 

“I ken that now,” Joanie admitted. “When he came wi’ Mother Claire… seein’ him wi’ her…”

“They’re happy together?” Brianna asked, eagerly. She remembered the change in her mother after they’d learned Jamie had survived Culloden. It was like a candle had been lit inside her, a vibrancy and life illuminating her from within. 

“Aye. Happier than Da and my mam ever were. I kent I’d miss Da when they went to settle the Ridge… but I wasna expecting to miss Mother Claire so much. I wish she could have been wi’ us when Marsali’s time came. The midwife wasna so gentle about it as Mother Claire would ha’ been—even Fergus said so.”

“And do you like having a nephew?” Brianna tried not to laugh at the expression that flitted across Joanie’s face. 

“He’s a sweet bairn when he’s in the mood to be. What about you? Ye dinna have bairns of yer own, do ye? Nor a husband neither?”

Brianna flushed. “Well… I’m not sure exactly, but I do have a young man I plan to marry. He said he’d come to find me at Fraser’s Ridge. He sailed from Scotland under a contract with the captain of the ship so he needs to finish that before he’s free to come along.”

“He didna sail with you then?”

“No. He heard I’d gone and came after me because he didn’t want me to be alone.” Brianna glanced up to the figure of Jamie riding ahead with Fergus. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him—didn’t know how to broach the subject when she was still figuring out how to be around him and how she felt towards him. It would be easier to tell her mother—oh, how she longed for her mother. 

“Will ye stay wi’ him at the Ridge when he comes? Fergus said Da has a great deal of land for them as’ll take it and work it proper. If ye ask him, I’m sure he’ll give ye and yer man a bit to build yer home for when ye’re wed. Or will ye go back wi’ him to Boston?”

Brianna laughed with awkward uncertainty. “I don’t know. We… we haven’t talked about it yet.”

They hadn’t talked much about anything that night he’d found her in Wilmington and they were handfast. Not until that stupid fight. She still didn’t want to believe he had known about the obituary and had kept it from her. There hadn’t been many words to the apology he made but she had seen in his eyes the regret and sorrow, the fear her passing through the stones had shot through him. She’d gratefully returned to the warmth of his arms and had enjoyed the gentle pleasures of makeup sex, sleeping comfortably afterwards until the stablehand’s arrival had woken them and they hurriedly dressed and snuck away. 

That was when they’d encountered Roger’s captain and the crew. She shivered at the memory of the captain’s gaze roaming over her and wished she had Roger there to ground her as she did then. She went with Roger to the docks as the  _ Glorianna  _ readied to depart and it had been there with him helping her inquire about the journey to Fraser’s Ridge that they’d heard about the family getting ready to leave that day. Their farewells had been brief with Roger promising to meet her as soon as he was able and then they were off in opposite directions. Had it really been less than a week since their handfasting?

“Well, I hope you and yer man decide to stay,” Joanie said with conviction. 

“And why is that? You hardly know me,” Brianna pointed out. 

“Tha’s part of why—to know ye better. If ye’re Da’s daughter then it make ye my sister, does it no? We’ve a deal of time to make up for.”

The girl’s sincerity was touching and made Brianna laugh. 

So little of her journey through the stones to find her parents had turned out as she’d expected but perhaps what had surprised her most was how happy and welcoming everyone had been. It was… like coming home… like she’d been away and only realized upon returning how satisfying it was to  _ be _ at home. What would it be like having her mother with her again? And when Roger joined her? It was impossible to brace herself or try to lower her expectations now. Brianna could only give herself over to the joy and possibilities rising within her.

She reached over and slipped an arm around Joanie’s shoulders, pulling the girl closer. 

“I’d say we’ve made a decent start of it, wouldn’t you?” 

Joanie smiled back at her and nodded. 


End file.
